The Bahrain Gp Official Thread

[Argento Reloaded 1]

Some journalists reported Jense was looking fro Rubinho at the paddock shouting "...where is Rubinho, where is he... I need him....". Nobody could understood what was he trying to tell...

[Persevere 0]

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the forum today. When does qualifying start?

Yes, it's only qualifying and it's only race 1 but, damn it, it sure as hell felt good. And while it's still the driver in the car who'll win the race, now, more than ever, the strategic brain trust in the pits will be so critical to success. Tire wear with a full belly of fuel: oh yeah.

[mikathegreat2 2]

Knew it would be either Vettel or Nando on pole, Massa has been very quiet but his quietness payed off with 2nd place!

[AleHop 0]

As far as I know the softer tyre is ok for about 7 laps (that's what I read about Ferrari's test), let's say 10 laps. It' doesn't sound good for the front runners.

[JHS 1]

I'm just happy Ferrari are in a strong-ish position. I like Vettel too though, just hope it's a good race.

[Quiet One 15]

Good report Andres. I just don't like you anymore for that last sentence!!

Awww...ok, then I'll say thath Button is a very good driver, he just got a wobbly knee

[PRB 0]

With teams running so light for qualifying today and starting so heavy tomorrow some peoples cars will have not been great for a hot lap but excellent in a long drawn out race. I wonder how much qualifying will represent what happens in the race tomorrow? It could be interesting.

I don't recall ever before seeing a qualifying with such time differences between some of the cars and not just first to last.

Vettel was excellent, Massa very good also. Schumacher didn't get pole but I was still impressed - a decent drive after so long out.

[Rainmaster 7]

Unlike Lewis at Montreal...

I'm worried that Schumi has lost his magic; he's not looking very clever is he? I really hope Eddie Jordan is wrong though, as he said Schumi was mad to come back, and he has a habit of being right despite sounding like an idiot (a bit like you Andres...what? who said that? not me).

As for quali, nice one Vettel. Nobody should be surprised really. Same goes for Massa, he's got pace, you Alonso fans will learn soon enough how annoying he is

Will Vettel win tomorrow? There are two statistics and one will be broken tomorrow, the first is that the pole guy doesn't win at Bahrain and the second is that Vettel has always won from pole. It'll probably depend on how Red Bull manages those tyres.

I was hoping Mclaren would be faster, but anyway, at least we have a decent top four tomorrow. Should be fun.

[Max Mosley 2]

How the hell are McLaren so rubbish? They surely have no excuse this time. The new teams are only 5s/lap off the pace and McLaren is 1s/lap off with all the advantages they have, plus the law of diminishing returns? I can't understand that. Unless their car is optimised for (very) good race pace... but I doubt it.

Interesting that Massa drew first blood. Alonso was under pressure from a team mate and made a mistake. Still, he seemed slightly quicker than Felipe at other times, though not by very much. Those guys looked very serious to me in the press conference. It's understandable because they've got a dominant car but there's some rivalry there fer sure.

Virgin were the quickest new team. I think that's a good achievement and shows those computer models (developed by smart people and sold to F1 teams, of course) work pretty well. Congrats to Virgin for doing well and for being brave and innovative to design the car without any experimental data from wind tunnels.

Alonso-Hamilton 2nd row!

Yeah I didn't notice that. Good stuff!

So, Vettel grabs pole, but he looks worried. I think their car tyre degration is worse than Ferrari. Ferrari is in prime position, if Hamilton could come between them at the start it will stir things up nicely, otherwise a boring race to the end with Ferrari's winning.

Yeah I'd imagine Vettel is bricking it. Them there Ferraris will be up luscious Liz's rear end soon enough. Might be an exciting battle for the first part of the race.

[Quiet One 15]

As I like to quote every season start:

"The mistakes are all there, waiting to be made" - Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower

[HandyNZL 1]

How the hell are McLaren so rubbish? They surely have no excuse this time. The new teams are only 5s/lap off the pace and McLaren is 1s/lap off with all the advantages they have, plus the law of diminishing returns? I can't understand that. Unless their car is optimised for (very) good race pace... but I doubt it.

Interesting that Massa drew first blood. Alonso was under pressure from a team mate and made a mistake. Still, he seemed slightly quicker than Felipe at other times, though not by very much. Those guys looked very serious to me in the press conference. It's understandable because they've got a dominant car but there's some rivalry there fer sure.

Virgin were the quickest new team. I think that's a good achievement and shows those computer models (developed by smart people and sold to F1 teams, of course) work pretty well. Congrats to Virgin for doing well and for being brave and innovative to design the car without any experimental data from wind tunnels.

Yeah I didn't notice that. Good stuff!

Yeah I'd imagine Vettel is bricking it. Them there Ferraris will be up luscious Liz's rear end soon enough. Might be an exciting battle for the first part of the race.

Well they're not as rubbish as Merc, or STR, or Force India, or Renault, or Virgin, or HRT, or Lotus, or Sauber, now are they? If they are set up more for the race than qually, which I suspect is true seeing how stiff the suspension seemed to be and how much they jumped around in turn six comparative to the rest, and no so much rear slide, then they will be very competitive over the first third of the race, which could be just enough to get in front and stay in front. Guess we shall find out in a short while.

Massa will end up with the upper hand. I think Alonso will have (yet again) underestimated the competitiveness of his team mate. I doubt Massa will roll over for him, and any mistakes by Sir Sixtenthsalot will be pounced on.

Virgin looks the nicest car of the new three, and if it looks right, it usually is right. I expect them to make steady improvement, and at a faster rate than Lotus. HRT with Dallara backing should also make some good progress - Dallara are not dummies and they have good track data for various tracks from all the junior formulae they supply to. Lotus still looks like a brick. Bricks sink.

Wonder what Luscious Liz will be renamed if he bins her? Lusicious Liz's Little Ho?

[yurp 0]

NH (Nico the Hulk, not Nick Midfeld )

Incidently, for those Heidfeld fans out there... (Katy) - he seems to have a lot of time on his hands these days http://www.nickheidfeld.com/?1200A0A1A0

[Insider 0]

The only thing I learned through Friday and yesterday was there was little difference between the McLaren drivers in terms of raw pace. The Champion must have been freaked by the poor performance of his new ride, [especially as it now has to have a new diffuser designed for it: see 'The McLaren Wing' topic] every bit as much as the returning Red Baron was by his own effort. However, I rather think the length and unevenness of the Bahrain circuit turned Quali into something of a lottery. Some drivers certainly got better runs in than others, though Vettel's pace was genuinely superior. That said, I don't think Schumi and Button, in seventh and eighth respectively, [both good tyre managers] are too badly placed with a full fuel load. Jens had good long run times in testing. In reality, RBR will be lucky to get on the podium if their rear tyre wear problem persists. I fully expect a Ferrari 1-2 with the best tyre saver from the next five or six on the bottom step.

[dribbler 6]

I'm worried that Schumi has lost his magic; he's not looking very clever is he? I really hope Eddie Jordan is wrong though, as he said Schumi was mad to come back, and he has a habit of being right despite sounding like an idiot (a bit like you Andres...what? who said that? not me).

It's early days but I was dissapointed by his pace. I don't buy the suggestion that it's a lack of practice, he's had enough of that over the winter. I think it's that Rosberg is showing the quality I have always rated him for, combined with a car that is an inherent understeerer due to being heavy and long in the wheelbase with narrow front tyres, quite the opposite of what Michael likes.

The Mercedes does not have front running pace yet, or so it would seem in qualifying trim. But of course, the race is a totally different story. Not for as long as I can remember do we have potential for such a different race result to the qualifying posisitions because of the variables that will no doubt play a hand. For example, who has optimised their car for when 50 kilos of fuel has burned? Who will nurse their tyres better than the others?

I enjoyed seeing Michael sniffing around the McLaren in parc ferme; none of the constantly thinking and analytical Michael has gone. But I am left wondering what he has in his armoury that gives him an advantage over his rivals. From where I'm sitting, I don't see a great deal. I don't want to draw conclusions too early, it's a long year, but it shows us already that Michael's previously effortless successes were a combination of factors which were established over many years. Blank sheet of paper and three years on he's looking merely good.

[Jenson_Rules 0]

Missed qualifying as I was out dancing all night. However after looking at the times it seems it's going to be a toss up between vettel and the two ferrari drivers. Can't believe how off the pace some teams are though! Shocking stuff.

[yurp 0]

Dribs and Ben,

Hello again folks.

My take on Qually is that Ferrari have the best car.

Red Bull looked ordinary in the hands of Webber, but then he could make any car look ordinary. Vettel made the difference there.

For Merc and Mac the prognosis is the same, they either have a slightly less than superb car OR they went with a setup that will benefit them more during the race but wasn't super quick in qually.

We shall see - I hope it's the later because I want to see more than just a Ferrari v Vettel battle this year after last year's Brawn v Vettel season.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

The Champion must have been freaked by the poor performance of his new ride, [especially as it now has to have a new diffuser designed for it:

Imagine how disappointed he'de been if he was in this year's Mercedes (Brawn) car.....

[Kopite Girl 0]

I was freaked by no Kimi Raikkonen. And I'm not being sarcastic, funny or harsh. I'd genuinely forgotten he wasn't in F1.

[dribbler 6]

I was freaked by no Kimi Raikkonen. And I'm not being sarcastic, funny or harsh.

Me too. I felt it completely ruined it by seeing only commitment and hearing only passion. And no, neither am I.

[Autumnpuma 0]

Andres, damned fine reporting! It goes well with scotch.

Well - I could tell you weren't aiming at intellectual rigor.

Hang on - are you saying there was no dip in Button's form or that it wasn't down to stopping (or atleast cutting back on) development half way through 2009 and switching to this year's car?

Cos that's what both Button and Brawn stated as the reason for their mid-season dip in results.

I'm simply saying what they did.

That's what I'm saying. His inability to heat his tyres in cold weather caused his dip more than any other factor did.

As for the rest - yes, I am right aren't I.

I admire your self-confidence.

The only thing I learned through Friday and yesterday was there was little difference between the McLaren drivers in terms of raw pace. The Champion must have been freaked by the poor performance of his new ride, [especially as it now has to have a new diffuser designed for it: see 'The McLaren Wing' topic] every bit as much as the returning Red Baron was by his own effort. However, I rather think the length and unevenness of the Bahrain circuit turned Quali into something of a lottery. Some drivers certainly got better runs in than others, though Vettel's pace was genuinely superior. That said, I don't think Schumi and Button, in seventh and eighth respectively, [both good tyre managers] are too badly placed with a full fuel load. Jens had good long run times in testing. In reality, RBR will be lucky to get on the podium if their rear tyre wear problem persists. I fully expect a Ferrari 1-2 with the best tyre saver from the next five or six on the bottom step.

Good post. As you say, the circuit will be the big equalizer. Fernando's slight over-cooking of a turn was monumental in qualy, but in the race everyone will be making those kinds of bobbles so it should equal everyone out. I think. I like your thoughts about Mikey and Button as well. I fear for Hamilton and his tyre-abuse.

It's early days but I was dissapointed by his pace. I don't buy the suggestion that it's a lack of practice, he's had enough of that over the winter. I think it's that Rosberg is showing the quality I have always rated him for, combined with a car that is an inherent understeerer due to being heavy and long in the wheelbase with narrow front tyres, quite the opposite of what Michael likes.

The Mercedes does not have front running pace yet, or so it would seem in qualifying trim. But of course, the race is a totally different story. Not for as long as I can remember do we have potential for such a different race result to the qualifying posisitions because of the variables that will no doubt play a hand. For example, who has optimised their car for when 50 kilos of fuel has burned? Who will nurse their tyres better than the others?

I enjoyed seeing Michael sniffing around the McLaren in parc ferme; none of the constantly thinking and analytical Michael has gone. But I am left wondering what he has in his armoury that gives him an advantage over his rivals. From where I'm sitting, I don't see a great deal. I don't want to draw conclusions too early, it's a long year, but it shows us already that Michael's previously effortless successes were a combination of factors which were established over many years. Blank sheet of paper and three years on he's looking merely good.

He won't ever find that magic half-second a lap until he forgets that he has nothing to prove.

Okay, my thoughts on qualy:

Alguesariosalalaririe was magnificent. Yes, he missed the apex and gave it a bit too much wellie, but damned if it wasn't a beautiful opposite-lock he gave us! Most drivers would have shunted it right then and there but that kid kept his foot planted hard and channeled the ghost of Rindt and Gilles for one brief, insanely gorgeous moment. I wanna kiss his ugly mug for that.

The Lotus windscreen should be yellow.

This season will be dominated by two factors: Understeer and ride height. To that end, I think McLaren might show better form when fully-loaded. Trouble is, they'll be light at the end when they need to be fast...and they won't be.

All the drivers, even the newer ones, did really well out there considering their circumstances. The gap between teammates' times up and down the grid was pretty minimal and was caused mainly by small driver errors which will be smoothed out over the course of the race.

Go Rubhino! Old guys in ugly vests rule! (You're the wild card, man!)

Senna's the real deal. I don't know if he has what his uncle had but his lines were good and his throttle confident.

Karun is the real deal too. I'm massively impressed with his composure, both in the car and out of it. (good interview with him, BBC!)

Did I mention that the Lotus windscreen should be yellow?

My prediction for the race: Vettel will overcook his tyres and fall off-form and Alonso will win due to a mistake made by Massa in the twisty bits. At McLaren it will be Hamilton over Button. (With that disturbing mental image, I now go to sleep.)

[dribbler 6]

Alguesariosalalaririe was magnificent. Yes, he missed the apex and gave it a bit too much wellie, but damned if it wasn't a beautiful opposite-lock he gave us! Most drivers would have shunted it right then and there but that kid kept his foot planted hard and channeled the ghost of Rindt and Gilles for one brief, insanely gorgeous moment. I wanna kiss his ugly mug for that.

It was lovely, indeed.

Did I mention that the Lotus windscreen should be yellow?

No. Mention it again.

My prediction for the race: Vettel will overcook his tyres and fall off-form and Alonso will win due to a mistake made by Massa in the twisty bits. At McLaren it will be Hamilton over Button. (With that disturbing mental image, I now go to sleep.)

I get a sense that Massa's got this one. There was something in his eyes (no, not gonna do it) that suggested a steely determination that has been born out of all his hard work to muscle himself into the form that he now has, the fact he has out q'd Alonso and that he has come back brilliantly through adversity. Because he's now actually looking like the real deal (and I never thought i would say that) and that he has more to prove than anyone out there, he's my tip for the title too.

[Insider 0]

Has everyone missed the story that the FIA have told Macca to replace their diffuser by Melbourne? I posted it on the 'McLaren Wing' thread. They say the port for the external starter is too large and constitutes a third diffuser layer. Whitmarsh accepted the decision without a peep.

[Kopite Girl 0]

Not too sure about the title Steve, but certainly a contender for it. If that makes sense? I guess I'm trying not to put all my eggs into one basket this early in the season. Yes, I am a chicken.

I do agree that Massa had that determined feel about him yesterday, but sometimes he's just Mr Inconsistent. If ever there was a driver to prove he's the minerals to beat Michael, then Massa is said driver.

This is directed at Sean and John. As fellow Jens fans, are you finding it strange how Button seems to be running off with the mouth in the papers all of a sudden? Is it a new found confidence since becoming WDC and he's really of the belief he can do back to back titles? Is he talking up his chances too much? Should he keep it shut and do his talking on track? I've hardly heard a peep out of Lewis this season. Does this bode well. Your thoughts guys?

[Insider 0]

Just in - engine change for Massa this morning. I do not jest. No penalty for that - phew! Ferrari spotted strange data from Quali on the telemetry and took the precautionary route. Also, I have just heard from my man at Renault that they, like McLaren must replace their diffuser by Melbourne. There are other teams who have been warned as well.

EDIT: More news

[yurp 0]

Just in - engine change for Massa this morning. I do not jest. No penalty for that - phew! Ferrari spotted strange data from Quali on the telemetry and took the precautionary route.

Yeah - He was going too fast.